Silicon Valley vs. The Populists: The Battle Inside Trump’s Camp

Ever since Donald Trump’s first presidential run, he has had a circle of tried-and-true loyalists around him, some of whom took action to challenge what they believed was a stolen election in 2020.

Some have been put on trial for him, like Boris Epshteyn, who was indicted for attempting to create alternative slates of presidential electors to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the state of Arizona. Others close to Trump, like Steve Bannon, went to jail for refusing a congressional subpoena issued by the House’s January 6 committee.

This group is ideologically populist, fiercely loyal to Trump, and is accused of being determined to seek revenge against Democrats, anti-Trump Republicans, and other domestic critics.

Trump’s 2024 campaign brought a new group into the fold that is clashing with his longtime allies: Silicon Valley leaders.

Tech entrepreneurs like David Sacks and Elon Musk, both former Democrat supporters, moved into Trump’s camp over the course of the campaign, attracted by his anti-establishment views and repulsed by the Democrats’ leftist turn.

Musk is not an ideologue; he is, as a businessman, interested in finding solutions. This leads him to talk to everyone: it is what first led him to Trump, and it also led him to ask the progressive podcast host Cenk Uygur for advice on what changes should be made to government.

It also led him to publically urge Trump to pick Howard Lutnick, who Musk said “would enact change,” over another choice preferred by others in Trump’s circle. Trump ultimately tapped Lutnick for commerce secretary.

This behavior has caused discontent among some unnamed Trump staffers, who complained that Musk was acting like a “co-president.”

It’s possible that these different ways of thinking caused a reported clash between Musk and Epshteyn; there was allegedly a “massive blowup” in which Musk accused Epshteyn of leaking Trump’s cabinet picks to the media.

Other Trump insiders are reportedly getting frustrated with Musk’s constant presence — but the president-elect, who just had him listen in on a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, clearly isn’t.